Remnants of the Earth

Worried, that was how Aspen looked as she walked down the hall with earbuds in. After her most recent victory, she quickly slipped away to her room, hiding from the cheers and claps of everyone wanting to celebrate her win. I mean, it was a glorious win and she was happy to show them all just how fast she could actually run but it didn't take away from the constant sickness in the pit of her stomach.

Having slipped away so quickly she completely spaced out on grabbing her jacket, which was still conveniently laying on the floor in a crumpled mess by the track. So now she was on her way back, having let enough time pass that hopefully she wouldn't run into anyone she didn't want to. Aspen had been trying so hard to be more social, even going as far as making challenges and sharing one of her deepest secrets with Sol. Still, it was hard... hard to let any of them in beyond the candidate chat.

Even worse the look on Viktor's face when he lost still lingered. Yes, Aspen may have won, but the shame she could see made it almost not worth it. WIthout even meaning to she could tell she caused something to stir within him.

In an attempt to shrug off the constant sickness of ruining everyone's lives Aspen turned the volume up, drowning out everything around her just before she opened the door. Immediately her eyes honed in on the target in question and her stride picked up as she went for her jacket.

".... stop tryin'.... stop fightin'..." Aspen softly singing along as she reached down to pick the jacket up. "So over all of this bad luck, hearing one more keep your head up... is it ever going to chan-" Aspen paused....Dangit, she could never remember this part.

"Don't look at me like that, just like you understand. Don't try to pull me back..." Aspen stood back up, flinging the jacket over her shoulder as she turned on her heel to head back.

"Let me just give up, let me just le-" And she was frozen...

Had Viktor and Soleas been here the whole time!? Why was Soleas's shirt off!? And why was he squatting like that!? Or better question... WHY WAS VIKTOR LOOKING AT SOLEAS LIKE THAT!?

Yep, Aspen was gone in la la land by now. Hands slumped at her sides while the music still flowed through her ears. At least she hadn't fainted, nope just her entire body managed to shut down while she still stood on two feet.

"What did I just walk into" she thought... unable to even process anything else at that moment.

(OOC: Song Aspen was jamming along to: You Don't Know-Katelyn Tarver )

At first, Havanah was completely confused by Soba's reaction, but then everything became so clear. She could feel the pressure as Soba's thoughts entered her mind and quickly turned to play the game.

"Coffee sounds great" she smiled, standing up behind Soba and grabbing her phone off the table. Clicking it off with one hand and shoving it into her pocket Havanah followed Soba, while she tried to recall every bit of information she could. She knew she was breaking protocol, she knew she was risking everything she had worked so hard for by being here but again she shoved those thoughts to be sorted through later.

"He loves food of all kinds. Steak, sushi rolls, whipped cream, cake..." Havanah started rambling on about all the various foods she had shared with Alec while she pushed her inner thoughts to reach Soba and Soba alone.

"He was last seen getting off the rail and following an AWOL pilot. After that more footage surfaced of him being subdued."

Havanah's concentration broke as she edged up to the next part, the part that would be hardest to tell without getting emotional. Taking a deep breath she dove back in.

"Oh, and how could I forget that he likes sandwiches, bagels, omelets, pancakes..."

"There were two other images you did not see... removed from the pilot chat and covered as system maintenance. It doesn't look good Soba..."

And that was pretty much it... or at least all the information she could give without risking permanent disbarment from the Inquiry department. Havanah didn't go into detail of what the other two pictures contained for Soba's sake, that would be just cruel.

"Venti cold brew with an espresso shot, wait.... two espresso shots please," Havanah ordered after stepping up to the counter with a tired smile on her face. After that, she stepped back so that Soba could make his own order. On the outside everything seemed so calm, just two friends sharing coffee and talking about their random lives.... nope nothing to see here.

Why did Alec have to be so damn adorable? Havanah couldn't help but think just how insanely amazing he was when he took her having to leave so calmly. Then again he was a Pilot, so he had to understand on some level.

All she could do was smile when he kissed her, holding her closer as her own arms tightened their grip. She didn't want to leave either, but she had to. Instead of dreading her departure Havanah tried to focus on the moment all of this shit storm at work was over. Then, and only then could she truly relax and let life go on.

His question caught her off guard, so much in fact that Havanah really did have to think the last time she ate. It wasn't breakfast, or dinner the night before... had it really been that long? "Uhh...." the only noise she could manage to get out in response.

When Alec got up to go to the kitchen Havanah moved also, back towards the bathroom where her clothes were probably still laying on the floor in a jumbled mess. Sure enough there they were, all crumbled on the floor just as she had left them.

Havanah emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later, her jeans and boots back on with Alec's sweat-shirt tied around her waist. She didn't technically take anything off, his shirt was still hanging on her shoulders and his boxers were stuffed under the jeans. "I'll come back and wash my clothes tomorrow." Of course she was referring to the undergarments and tank top still laying on his bathroom floor.

"A sandwich wrap?" she laughed, leaning against the counter as he constructed her something to eat. "You're so sweet." Havanah then pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her messages, the color draining from her face when she checked the communication board. "I've got to go."

Headed out now


- Pilot Echo Havanah Brookes

Sector Ca Midsections 126c to 127e cleared

Nothing new to report. It appears the trail has run cold. Stepping back to reevaluate. Will re sweep Sector Ca Midsections 124f-126b in case we missed something at first light.

Will keep mobile on and near in case anything new resurfaces.

-Pilot Echo Havanah Brookes.

It may have been a joke a while back about renting space on the rail, but it seemed every single day this week Havanah had made at least one trip over to Margad for some fucked up reason. And here she was again doing just that, twiddling her thumbs while she waited for the right stop.

The last few days had been hell, between personal drama and the entire Cinna situation the poor girl hadn't even slept much. Seemed to look like shit was a new fashion among most of the pilots, and Havanah was no exception. She was in her gray jeans and one of Alec's t-shirts. She didn't even have time to run home and change yesterday after they talked but instead went right back to searching Sector C for anything they may have missed. Her hair was pulled back, frizzy from not being brushed and sticking out in random chunks.

In fact, this afternoon was when she decided perhaps she just needed to take a step back from the case and clear her head. Maybe then she could return with a clearer mind. There was also the looming worry from the moment she was informed of Cinna's disappearance on how Soba would take this. She guessed he had seen the picture posted yesterday before it was taken down because shortly after it was rumored he requested to join her team in Haviah.

Stepping off the rail she quickly saw the illuminated sign for Manolins and began walking, determined not to be making any 'rest stops' on the way like last time... her ass was still recovering.

Looking like shit was an understatement when Havanah finally lay eyes on Soba. He looked awful, his usual quirky presence like it never existed at all. With her lips in a fine line, she pulled out a chair and took a seat, giving Soba a sorry expression.

"How are you holding up?" The one question that had been burning in her chest the moment she found out he knew.

The moment he finally began to speak Havanah held her breath, not sure of the response she was going to get out of him. She tried to think back to when all of it became so complicated, when this amazing friendship became the heaviest thing on her heart. Was it after they became friends with more? Or was it when she turned around on that rail....

Then there was the deeper question. What did Havanah want from Alec? Even she wasn't sure at this point. Both of them had said and done stupid things leading up to this point and now it was time to finally untangle this mess.

"I don't know..." she sighed, letting her hand fall off his arm as she slid away. Maneuvering herself so she sat at the edge of the bed, her back to Alec. Okay so maybe it was best to start at the beginning, to just say what prompted all of this madness.

"I was on the rail.... to go see Soba." Her shoulders lifted as she took in another deep breath. "You were acting funny so I got off at the nearest stop and came back." And then it broke, the wall she had been mercilessly holding together to keep the tears back. She wasn't sobbing, and it would probably be hard to tell if not for the stream of tears gliding down her cheeks.

"I saw what you were saying, about me having feelings after just that one night. I felt attacked and humiliated. I was so mad." Havanah gripped the sheets, channeling her frustrations through her fingers. "Then we were good and then we weren't again... I thought you were hiding from me and I was feeling even more embarassed and frustrated." It was then that Havanah pushed herself up off the bed, standing and turning towards him.

"I slept with Karuzo to prove a point to myself! I needed to prove that I didn't need you as badly as I thought I did. I just needed to know......." And there it was, that sickening feeling in her stomach again. It was painful, so much so that she wrapped her arms around herself, as if her innards were about to spew all over the floor.

"It was aweful what I did to him, and what I did to you and I knew it... so I ran. I said I was leaving Haviah and transferring as a last ditch effort to see if you cared, to see if you would say anything but you didn't. I wanted you-" Havanah was slowly going from hurt to angry as she went on. "I needed you to tell me to stay! I was too busy crying over your fucking ass that I didn't even notice that plant was not a bench! And then to top it all off something so bad has happened. I couldn't even stay gone if I wanted to because of work."

Havanah was a mess all over again. Crying and angry at not only Alec but the world itself. All of it just seemed so cruel right now and like she was the latest peice in a game of chess. "And then on top of ALL of that I have to pretend to be 'happy go lucky Havanah' for Aspen! I'm just so tired of pretending... so tired of acting like everything is perfectly fucking okay when it isn't!"

"So it's my turn to ask now Alec, what is it you want from me!? Because clearly nothing that I do is the right thing in this situation."

Is there any significance towards the numbers on the file name and the flowers in the order they are used?

18151511

Heading out now to expand search based on latest physical evidence acquired this afternoon.

Will report if anything stands out.

-Pilot Echo Brookes

Listening as Alec told her where everything was Havanah went straight for the drawers and pulled out a t-shirt and then a pair of his boxers. Deep down she was already mentally adding some of the other contents of his drawer to her future collection for later.

With clothes in hand, she then followed the sound of running water to the bathroom. Stopping in the doorway she leaned against it, watching Alec stare into the running water. So it wasn't just her then... he had a lot on his mind too.  She would stand there watching him for a few moments, just taking in the sight of his back. Havanah even closed her eyes for a second, trying to compose herself from whatever feelings had begun to bubble up at the sight.

"Thanks..." she whispered, pushing herself off the door frame and towards the sink. She stopped in front of the mirror in pure horror. God, she really did look like shit! Part of her wanted to throw a towel or something over it just so she didn't have to see and suddenly she was feeling very self-conscious.

Setting the shirt and boxers on the edge of the sink she turned away from it, leaning her butt against it for a second before pushing off in pain. "Dammit," she winced, taking a hand to soothe her sore behind. "Let me tell you Alec, don't ever sit on a plant... ever."

She was trying to lighten the tense air between them, yet somehow her joke fell a bit flat. "Can you do me a favor and wait for me outside?"

From there she would wait for him to leave before stripping off her clothes, first kicking off her boots and pulling off her socks. After that she was quick to discard the rest of her clothing and slip into the water, immediately letting its warmth consume every inch of her. It's not that she minded Alec seeing her naked, but more she didn't want him to see her this disgusting.

It was pretty straightforward after that, Havanah first washing her body and then hair with Alec's wonderfully scented soaps. She even took one of the bottles and held it to her nose for a second. "Why does guy stuff always smell so much better!?" A mystery that would never be answered for all of womankind...

After all the soap and dirt was washed away Havanah got out and pulled the drain to empty the tub. Stealing a glance of herself in the mirror again she was quite pleased with the result of scrubbing. Still soaking wet she walked over to the door and pushed it open, leaning out to try and find Alec.

"Where are the towels at again?"

"A package deal?" Havanah lost it at that, laughing so hard she tilted her head back in the chair. She was pleasantly surprised with how funny he was being right now. Alec had definitely changed since graduating, thank goodness it was for the better.

Havanah took another piece of her omelet and plopped it in her mouth, chewing while Alec went on about having pets. "I'm thinking one day I might get a cat or something, those seem to be popular with some of the pilots. Honestly, anything to come home to would be nice."

Taking another bite she chewed and swallowed before continuing. "I mean going out after work is fun and all but sometimes I just want to go home. Nothing sucks more than going home and feeling like no one noticed you were gone all day."

The truest of statements coming from a pilot. Their lives looked like nothing but party and glamor and in truth, the majority of them lived to work. Havanah knew that she did. In fact, at the Inquiry, she had to be someone completely different. Couldn't very well have a party girl questioning and sorting through pilot discrepancies.